The man who had been honest his entire life, upon hearing this news, felt a rebellious spirit for the first time. He refused outright, insisting on going to retrieve his daughter. He was knocked unconscious by his elder brother with a stick, and when he woke up, he had been replaced.
After waking, he immediately sneaked out of the room, climbed over the courtyard wall, and rushed over in a hurry, hoping to rescue his daughter.
Seeing their emaciated appearances, Wu Caiwei quickly found a restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes, letting them have a good feast.
Zhang Qiuju had never eaten such delicious food in her life. Although she was curious about the relationship between this lady and her father, she was still tempted by the delicacies and buried her head in eating.
The two then sat down to talk about their respective experiences and the hardships they had endured over the years.
"What do you plan to do next?" Wu Caiwei asked him calmly, confident that he could devise a good solution.
"Actually, as I was walking just now, I was already thinking of a way. For me, the most important thing right now is to escape from that large family. Although my parents gave birth to me and raised me, hasn't our small family suffered enough because of them? If I hadn't come today, Autumn Chrysanthemum's fate would have been unimaginable. I have a younger daughter, and any day they are short of money, I have no doubt they would sell her. I, this honest person, would become the family's hardworking ox, dying alone at a young age." He felt his words were not exaggerated at all; this was exactly the kind of thing they would do.
"Do you have a good plan?" Wu Caiwei said calmly, not at all surprised by his thoughts. After all, both of them were outsiders and had no feelings for their respective families, viewing the situation from a fair and just standpoint.
"Didn't you just tell the people at the brothel that we are now your people? You can say the same to my parents." Seeing Wu Caiwei looking at him with interest, Zhang Dahai thought for a moment and continued, "I can tell them that I want to rescue Autumn Chrysanthemum, but I don't have enough money, so I borrowed it from you. However, the brothel owner is asking for too much, and I can't afford it. So I sold our whole family to you for two hundred taels of silver. Let's see if they can pay two hundred taels of silver to redeem us."
Wu Caiwei chuckled when she heard this. "If they hear this, wouldn't they chase you away immediately? How could they possibly pay silver to redeem you? Your idea is good, but what about your elder and second daughters?"
"Of course, I'll take them with me. You have no idea how honest I used to be. I secretly went to see my two daughters; they were each worse off than the other. The elder daughter married a fool who beat her constantly. Her in-laws would surely side with their son, and she was like a walking dead person. The second daughter was slightly better, but her husband was old and ugly. He was afraid she would run off with someone else, so he watched her more closely than anything. If she spoke more than a few words to others, she would inevitably be beaten when she got home."
Speaking of this, Zhang Dahai couldn't help but sigh for the original owner. He couldn't understand the original owner's mindset. In his eyes, even biological parents should be reasonable and treat everyone equally. Even if they couldn't treat everyone equally, they shouldn't go too far. His guiding principle had always been that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. If others didn't like him, there was no need to cling to them.
The reason the two of them spoke without excluding Zhang Qiuju was mainly because Zhang Dahai felt that this daughter was not the simple-minded and timid type. He wanted her to see more of the world and learn to use her brain when encountering problems.
Although Zhang Qiuju had been eating the whole time, she had not disappointed them. She hadn't expressed any opinions, but she had been pondering these matters. For a moment, she found it difficult to accept her father's change. The fate of her two older sisters had made her utterly disappointed in her father, and it was considered a blessing in disguise that he finally decided to change.
As soon as the father and daughter appeared, an old woman in the courtyard immediately shrieked, "How could you redeem her? That ten taels of silver has already been given to your nephew. We can't come up with that money. You hurry up and send her back, or we won't be responsible for the debt you owe."
Zhang Dahai looked at her coldly and said, "Mother, you don't know yet, I redeemed Autumn Chrysanthemum. It cost a full two hundred taels."
"Two hundred taels? They're robbing us! I only sold her for ten taels. Good heavens, that's two hundred taels! I've never seen so much silver in my life?" Mother Zhang was shocked. After a moment, she reacted, "Where did you get two hundred taels? You didn't steal or rob, did you? If that's the case, then leave our house immediately. We can't have someone like you in our family."
Zhang Dahai had long since stopped expecting anything from the original owner's relatives, so there was no disappointment. "Mother, don't worry. We didn't steal or rob. I don't have two hundred taels, but I can sell myself. Didn't you complain that my daughters eat too much? Well, I've sold all of them, including my elder and second daughters who are already married, and myself. I sold them all to a lady. This time, I got a good price, much more valuable than what you sold her for."
Mother Zhang's heart trembled as she looked at his triumphant expression. How could she have given birth to such an honest and simple son? He was nothing like her.
Mother Zhang couldn't help but step forward and slap him a few times. "Why did you spend two hundred taels to save her? What's wrong with the brothel? You have food, drink, and wear gold and silver. It would have been so much better if you had brought the two hundred taels from selling yourself to filial piety me! Now, the person is saved, but your whole family is implicated. This deal doesn't seem worth it at all!"
Zhang Dahai panicked when he heard this. "I think it's quite worth it! Mother usually only sold my girls for a few taels of silver, and I sold our whole family for two hundred taels. Isn't that a good price? If you think the deal isn't worth it, why don't you pay two hundred taels and redeem us? Then we can sell ourselves for a higher price?"
"Where would I get two hundred taels to give you? Let alone two hundred, I can't even come up with two taels. You should pack your things and leave quickly. Of course, you'll be eating and drinking well with someone else from now on. Try not to bring anything you don't need, and leave it all to us."
Mother Zhang thought about it and decided it was best to let them leave quickly. She had never liked this son, and she felt no reluctance about his departure. She was only worried about not having a free laborer at home anymore and no one to farm the land, which gave her a headache. Of course, since he had been sold to someone else, she didn't dare to force him to stay for fear of legal trouble.
When the eldest son of the Zhang family heard this, he quickly came out of the house. In fact, he had heard the entire conversation between his brother and mother. After all, the reason Autumn Chrysanthemum was sold was to gather travel expenses for his own son's upcoming examination. He had no standing to say anything.
Now that his brother was leaving, he quickly tried to make his presence felt. "Dahai, you need to understand your brother's difficulties. Our family has been farmers for generations. Only your nephew has the talent for studying. If we don't support him, how can we change our ways? How can we succeed? We can only let you suffer. I hope you don't resent us. When you become successful one day, don't forget us."